Personal Mobility

Currently, many federal/state/local agencies are providing diverse public transportation service at the historically slow-growth rural areas. The integration of these available rural transit services can be greatly enhanced with the automated demand-responsive transits, and coordinated transit service equipped with the Intelligent Transportation System and Information Technology (ITS/IT) technologies. This paper discusses both the available ITS technologies and existing institution barriers that are essential to improve the quality of life at the rural communities.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, June 4-7, 2001 Miami Beach, Florida

Congestion on urban freeways, which adversely affects the economy, environment, and quality of life, continues to be a major problem in the United States. Minor incidents, such as minor traffic accidents, stalled vehicles, and special events, account for the majority of urban freeway congestion. Due to the problems associated with freeway incidents, many large metropolitan areas have implemented Incident Management Systems (IMS) to alleviate congestion and safety problems associated with incidents. These systems provide motorists with timely and accurate information to avoid incident locations. Therefore, motorists will experience reductions in travel time and secondary accidents, while increasing speeds and capacity during an incident. Incident management systems have been implemented mainly in large urban areas; however, little is known about the possible benefits in smaller urban areas (second-tier cities).

This study examined the feasibility of implementing IMS in small/medium size urban areas using a case study of the I-29 corridor in Fargo, ND. Due to the lack of knowledge and information regarding the possible benefits of implementing an IMS in smaller urban areas, the evaluation was performed using a simulation model to compare base cases to ITS enhanced cases. The INTEGRATION simulation model was used to estimate the potential benefits of an IMS which employs Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). The study simulated a hypothetical one-lane-blocking incident having a duration of 20 minutes.

The case study analysis revealed that the combination of ATIS and ATMS provided the most favorable network benefits under the 20-minute incident. The IMS reduced incident travel times by 13 percent (city arterials), 28 percent (freeways), and 18 percent (overall network); average trip times were reduced by 20 percent (overall network); and average speeds increased by 21 percent (overall network).

North Dakota State University - Advanced Traffic Analysis Center - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

The interest in and need for monitoring and reporting on arterial congestion has been growing as part of both traffic management and driver information system efforts. State and local agencies use different detection equipment such as inductance loop detectors and closed-circuit television (CCTV) to monitor arterial surveillance. In the Puget Sound area, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has considered using CCTV cameras to provide arterial traffic condition information, and several local agencies have installed CCTVs to monitor arterial performance and provide images of arterial traffic conditions to the public. However, there is no clear understanding about what type of data is useful to travelers and how to present arterial traffic conditions to better serve public information needs. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the options for depicting arterial traffic flow conditions from the average traveler’s perspective.

This paper describes traveler opinions about useful arterial traffic condition measures, as well as ways that such information could be interpreted and effectively displayed for the general public. The project also deals with travelers’ preferences for traffic information delivery formats.

Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC): University of Washington

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, June 4-7, 2001 Miami Beach, Florida

This paper will discuss the experiences of bringing a 511 system to operation in multiple state environments, and will describe plans for coordinating on-going operations. General cost analysis, challenges faced, lessons learned are included. The focus is on a group of eight-states, referred to in this paper as the CARS-511 consortium. The consortium (consisting of Kentucky, Iowa, Minnesota, Alaska, New Mexico, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire) was formed to develop and deploy new 511 traveler information phone services. The CARS-511 states have discovered that economies of scale have led to cost reductions in application development, software implementation and operational costs. Shared buying power also provides significant leverage to push vendor prices downward.

Castle Rock Consultants

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 19-22, 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota

This paper details the procurement of a Dynamic Message Sign Network (DMSN) by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). The DMSN will allow RIDOT to provide incident and congestion information to motorists traveling through the Providence metropolitan area.The DMSN procurement is the first major RIDOT ITS procurement that is facilitated through an RFP process.This paper examines the rationale behind, and process of, transitioning from a traditional procurement package to a multi-contract, qualifications based, procurement. Lessons learned from this approach will be of benefit to DOTs who may be considering this same migration path. This paper also illustrates the benefit of converting traditional design specifications to a requirements checklist within an RFP. This is particularly useful for those DOT’s that have invested in a specifications library who may want to adapt these specifications to support qualifications based procurements.

Rhode Island DOT

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 19-22, 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota